Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to updating an application and more particularly to updating an application such as an authoring tool for defining one or more customized configurations of an enterprise solution or other software package.
When installing an application, any number of different settings can be configured for a variety of different aspect of the application. For example, most users of different types of applications are familiar with user preference type settings for controlling the look and feel of an application as well as other aspects of how the application behaves. Of course, any number of other types of settings are configurable as known in the art. As the size of the application grows, the number of configurable features or aspects of the application can grow as well. Thus, for a large application, application suite, or enterprise solution, the number of settings that may be configured or set at installation time can be overwhelming or, at the least, difficult and time consuming to deal with.
In some cases, such applications may be pre-configured by the software vendor or other party providing the software or services related thereto. For example, an application suite may be provided to a user with some or all of the possible configurations pre-set. In some cases, the application may be pre-configured for a particular market, use or application, region, etc. After installation, the user can adjust or modify these configurations. Additionally or alternatively, large applications can be configured via an interactive process such as a wizard or other set-up routine. These routines, run at installation or upon request, present an interactive dialog to query the user as to the configuration desired which is then set via the routine. Again, the user can adjust or modify these configurations, perhaps by re-executing the set-up routine or by manually changing configuration settings.
In order to provide these customizations, either in the form of a set of pre-configured software settings, as part of a standard or customized wizard or questionnaire, or both, an authoring tool can be used by a software vendor of other party providing the software or services related thereto. Such a tool can provide an environment in which a developer can manipulate and save a configuration and/or wizard or questionnaire questions, tasks, etc. for distribution to customers to use during installation and/or setup of the related application.
While such tools provide a convenient, quick way for developers to produce custom configurations for an application, they have limitations that discourage developers from utilizing the full abilities of the authoring tool to develop detailed customized configurations. Namely, when the authoring tool changes, i.e., via an update, patch, etc., a vendor or other entity using the authoring tool needs to reset retest etc all customizations. Such changes, testing, etc. are time consuming, tedious, and costly. Thus, developers are reluctant to use these authoring tools to develop custom configurations that are extensive and/or detailed. Rather, developers tend to limit the scope of any customizations in order to avoid the time and expense associated with such restoration and retesting when the authoring tool is changed. Hence, there is a need in the art for improved systems and methods for updating an application such as a business accelerator authoring tool having one or more defined customized configurations.